Updating . .   

Newsom: California places of worship can reopen with limited capacity -- Amid mounting pressure from protestors and President Donald Trump, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled plans on Monday for reopening California churches and allowing in-person religious services. But religious leaders in the Bay Area will have to wait. Under the governor’s new guidelines, places of worship could reopen, pending approval from their county public health officials, but must limit attendance to 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees — whichever is lower. Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ Robert Jablon Associated Press Tessa McLean in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/20

L.A. County coronavirus cases top 45,000 as officials urge social distancing -- Los Angeles County reported 913 new COVID-19 cases and 16 additional deaths Sunday, bringing total confirmed cases to 45,034 and fatalities to 2,108. Statewide in California, there have been 94,406 confirmed cases and 3,755 coronavirus-related deaths. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/20

Memorial Day like never before: Vintage planes to fly over L.A., but the crowd will be online -- Memorial Day 2020 in California will be one like no other. With social distancing rules in place, large memorials in Los Angeles and Orange counties are being replaced by virtual ones, as well as a flyover of vintage planes. The item is in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/20

Bay Area search for coronavirus drugs extends far beyond remdesivir -- Remdesivir, the antiviral drug made by Foster City’s Gilead Sciences that has recently shown promise in treating COVID-19 patients, will likely not turn the tide of the coronavirus pandemic on its own. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/20

Taylor: Not everyone’s impressed with slowing down traffic near Oakland’s essential places -- Veronica Clay walks to Shop Rite Supermarket, a store on Bancroft Avenue in East Oakland, several times a week. Otis R. Taylor Jr. -- 5/25/20

Sutter Health finds black patients get coronavirus diagnoses at later stage than white peers -- The chief medical officer for Sutter Health is seeing a worrisome trend when it comes to COVID-19 diagnoses. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/25/20

San Diego County food vendors at a loss without the county fair -- Every June for nearly four decades, Charlie Boghosian has worked the county fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. He was a 14-year-old resident of South Park when he got his first job selling charbroiled corn there, a gig he continued each summer until he graduated from college. Lauren J. Mapp in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/25/20

In Mexican Border Cities, Many Fear Virus Is Coming From US -- Adrián Alonso Gama lived life on both sides of the border until he got the coronavirus. On weekends the 37-year-old truck driver would stay at his parents’ home in Tijuana. Thanks to his U.S. green card, he lived in his own place in San Diego during the week, delivering beer and auto parts around the American southwest. Jorge Lebrija and Maria Verza Associated Press -- 5/25/20

When life dries up -- Klamath Basin faces renewed conflict, as drought saps the water and farmers run out of time. Kurtis Alexander, Carlos Avila Gonzalez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/20

Trump Threatens to Pull Republican National Convention From North Carolina -- President Trump on Monday threatened to yank the Republican National Convention from Charlotte, N.C., where it is scheduled to be held in August, accusing the state’s Democratic governor of being in a “shutdown mood” that could prevent a fully attended event. Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ David Shepardson Reuters -- 5/25/20

 

California Policy & Politics Monday Morning  

2 church services sources of virus outbreaks -- As Gov. Gavin Newsom prepares to release plans for how religious institutions can reopen in California during the coronavirus pandemic, health officials announced that two church services that were held without authorization have been sources of outbreaks. Christopher Weber and Daisy Nguyen Associated Press Alex Wigglesworth -- 5/25/20

Coronavirus outbreaks hits Farmer John, 8 other plants in Vernon -- Outbreaks of COVID-19 have struck nine industrial facilities in Vernon, including five meatpacking plants, Los Angeles County health officials said Sunday. Laura Newberry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/20

Republicans sue Newsom over vote-by-mail order for November election -- Three Republican groups have sued Gov. Gavin Newsom over his executive order to send mail-in ballots to California’s 20.6 million voters in November. The suit was brought by the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the California Republican Party. Laura Newberry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/20

Crowds head outdoors for Memorial Day weekend, mostly keeping distance -- Crowds were heavy in parts of the Bay Area during the first two days of a beautiful three-day Memorial Day weekend, as shelter-weary residents tried — and mostly succeeded — to keep their distance from each other. Peter Hartlaub and J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/20

California beaches back in business: People ‘don’t want to be trapped at home’ -- Memorial Day weekend brought crowds to beaches, trails and parks, but officials said that for the most part there were no major problems and that most people appeared to be following social distancing rules. Alex Wigglesworth, Andrew Turner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

Suspension of military honors at national cemetery burials compounds loss for families -- Without honor guards, gun salutes or folded flag ceremonies, families of recently deceased veterans say closure is hard to find. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/25/20

What lies ahead for post-shutdown cities? It depends on whom you ask -- Our nation only now is beginning to emerge from the first stifling phase of its efforts to contain the harrowing threat of a global pandemic. The pronouncements concerning “what comes next” for American cities, however, are already in high gear. John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/20

80,000 expired N95 masks were left to rot until a UCSF doctor, engineer teamed up -- Dr. Aenor Sawyer, an orthopedist at UCSF, was working on a coronavirus project to decontaminate masks in late March when she learned a startling fact: California had stockpiled 21 million N95 masks, and all of them were expired. Alejandro Serrano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/20

San Diego high schools plan drive-thru graduations - some even at movie drive-ins -- High schools in San Diego County are gradually releasing plans for graduation — and for many of them, you’ll need to bring your car. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/25/20

Huge Pier 45 fire devastates SF fishing industry, threatens Dungeness crab season -- San Francisco’s fishing industry was left staggering Sunday, a day after a four-alarm fire destroyed a processing and storage warehouse in Fisherman’s Wharf and threatened the next Dungeness crab season. Rusty Simmons in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/20

As if SF’s Tenderloin didn’t have enough problems, pulling out narcotics cops didn’t help -- Arrests for the sale of heroin and fentanyl in San Francisco have taken a major dive since the mid-March coronavirus shutdown, in large part because the Police Department suspended the operations of the narcotics unit. Nowhere was the narcotics unit’s absence more evident than in the constantly troubled Tenderloin, where open drug dealing has reached new heights. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/20

Policy & Politics 

Skelton: California gives too many unchecked tax breaks. It’s time to shine a light on them -- California’s state government is dishing out $73 billion in tax breaks annually to millions of people and hundreds of interests. But there’s no evidence that this generosity is good or bad for the state. Does it create jobs? Attract businesses to California? Help companies expand? George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/20

Walters: Tax hikes in the midst of recession? -- It’s the multi-billion-dollar question of the moment: In the midst of a sudden recession that has erased, at least temporarily, millions of jobs, would Californians support a batch of new taxes to prop up state and local government services? Dan Walters Calmatters -- 5/25/20

Reopen     

San Diego Superior Court to resume some in-person services Tuesday -- The San Diego Superior Court will reopen Tuesday for some in-person services, though many services will be available remotely, and most hearings will continue to be held remotely, if at all. Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/25/20

POTUS 45  

Trump Promotes Posts From Racist and Sexist Twitter Feed -- On a weekend when the nation was bracing for the approaching toll of 100,000 lives lost to the coronavirus and honoring the many more people who have died in wars, President Trump amplified a series of demeaning personal attacks from a supporter with a history of racist and sexist online commentary. Annie Karni in the New York Times$ -- 5/25/20

AP Fact Check : Faulty Trump claims on virus drug, vote fraud -- When President Donald Trump doesn’t like the message, he shoots the messenger. So it was this past week when he took very personally a scientific study that should give pause to anyone thinking of following Trump’s lead and ingesting a potentially risky drug for the coronavirus. He branded the study’s researchers, financed in part by his own administration, his “enemy.” Hope Yen, Marilynn Marchione and Calvin Woodward Associated Press -- 5/24/20

 

-- Sunday Updates   

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