Updating . .   

L.A. County moves into the orange tier Monday. Here’s what will change -- Los Angeles County on Monday will relax more restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus when it moves into the orange tier, the second-most-lenient of the state’s four-phase reopening blueprint. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

When will California lift its mask mandate? History says now is not the time -- When the day finally arrives that denizens of the Bay Area can tear off their masks and safely breathe one another’s unfiltered air, it won’t be accompanied by cheers and the tossing of face coverings into the streets. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/3/21

Virus Variants Threaten to Draw Out the Pandemic, Scientists Say -- Even as vaccines were authorized late last year, illuminating a path to the pandemic’s end, variants were trouncing Britain, South Africa and Brazil. New variants have continued to pop up — in California one week, in New York and Oregon the next. As they take root, these new versions of the coronavirus threaten to postpone an end to the pandemic. Apoorva Mandavilli and Benjamin Mueller in the New York Times$ -- 4/3/21

Opening  

Six Flags Magic Mountain reopens: COVID safety measures change even the bathrooms -- Donald Kolwyck and his wife, Sharon, were next in line to ride the Full Throttle roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain when a voice on a loudspeaker announced that the ride was temporarily offline for technical problems. Hugo Martín in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

The Cats restaurant fined $77,500 for breaking COVID rules, unlawfully offering ‘adult entertainment’ -- The Cats restaurant and bar — a landmark of sorts for Santa Cruz-bound drivers because of its prominent presence along southbound Highway 17 — has been fined $77,500 for providing late-night live adult entertainment indoors and violating other COVID-19 public health orders, according to Santa Clara County records. Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/3/21

School  

Six Los Angeles Catholic schools to close, victims of pandemic hardship, years of struggle -- After a difficult year of pandemic-accelerated enrollment losses and hobbled fundraising, six elementary schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will close in June as one of the nation’s largest private educational systems struggles to keep many of its schools afloat. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

District intervenes in stalled Drake High renaming process -- After pulling a finalist for a new name for Sir Francis Drake High School, the panel in charge of the school’s controversial renaming process is pausing the effort to allow for discussion in a wider forum. On Thursday, the Drake Leadership Council postponed its planned meeting “until further notice,” according to the school’s website. Keri Brenner in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/3/21

Street  

Los Gatos police chief decries 'a hate crime in our own town' -- Los Gatos police are looking for a bicyclist who cursed at and shoved a 40-year-old Asian woman to the ground in what the police chief described as “a hate crime in our own town.” Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/3/21

Orange shooting victims are identified as suspect is charged with 4 murders -- A 44-year-old Fullerton man accused of going on a shooting spree at a business complex in Orange this week was charged Friday with four counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Two of the murder-attempt counts Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez faces are for trying to kill police officers, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said. No officer was hurt. Alma Fausto, Susan Christian Goulding, Emily Rasmussen in the Orange County Register -- 4/3/21

‘They were so innocent’: Orange mass shooting shattered a family business; victims remembered -- Luis Tovar lived for his family. An avid outdoorsman, the 50-year-old frequently loaded them up in his fifth-wheel for camping trips to Arizona. Hannah Fry, Ruben Vives, Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

Orange shooting victims: A prom king. A loving daughter. A young boy. A cheerful colleague -- The victims of the Orange mass shooting were connected through a mobile home business where the violence occurred. Hannah Fry, Lila Seidman, Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

Column: A week later, here’s what happened to some of the homeless people booted from Echo Park -- A week ago, Olga was living in a tent along Echo Park Lake. I’d reached her at the hotel to which she had been relocated after being ousted from the park — along with roughly 200 other homeless people who had built a commune-like encampment that, depending on whom you ask, was either a safe space or a haven for criminals. Erika D. Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

San Diego paying out $16M to woman injured in crash with city police car -- San Diego is paying out $16 million to a woman who suffered “catastrophic” injuries, including a lost leg and a brain bleed, when a city police officer drove his patrol car into her as she was riding a motorcycle. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/3/21

Designer Mossimo Giannulli released from California prison -- Fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli has been released from a California prison and is under home confinement following his imprisonment for his role in a college admissions bribery scheme, according to a person familiar with the matter. Stefanie Dazio and Michael Balsamo Associated Press -- 4/3/21

Border 

Federal government considers two more California sites to house unaccompanied migrant children -- The Long Beach Convention Center could soon be tapped, said a source who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. And federal officials sent a request for the same purpose to use Camp Roberts, a California Army National Guard base inland along the central coast, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed in a briefing Thursday. Cindy Carcamo, Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

Also . . .   

Lelyveld: How sewing masks for the vulnerable stitched together an empowering Facebook community -- Let me tell you from the get-go that the creator of one of the nation’s largest and most diverse grass-roots mask-making efforts did not intend to start a movement, to mobilize the masses, to spend the last year searching out under-resourced communities and commandeering fabric and elastic to give away thousands of COVID-19 face masks. Nita Lelyveld in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

California Policy and P  olitics Saturday Morning  

Indian ‘double mutant’ COVID-19 variant found in Bay Area -- Another new form of the coronavirus, whose emergence in India is coinciding with a surge in cases, has been detected in the San Francisco Bay Area by Stanford University. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/3/21

Children are the next frontier in the U.S. vaccination campaign against coronavirus -- One morning in February, 15-year-old Lewis Polansky and his 13-year-old sister Elsa reported to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine trial site in Banning, Calif., for their experimental shots. Back home in South Pasadena by midafternoon, Lewis rubbed his sore arm, complained of fatigue and fell asleep. Elsa, who felt nothing, was jealous. Emily Baumgaertner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

FEMA rejects county plea to keep Oakland Coliseum vaccination site open past April 11 -- With the Oakland Coliseum mass vaccination site scheduled to close just days before California opens eligibility to everyone 16 years and older, state and county officials are begging for more time and doses. But federal authorities said Friday they’re sticking with plans to abandon the site in a little over a week. Meghan Bobrowsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Annie Sciacca, Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/3/21

40% of California adults at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, data show -- California and the U.S. continue to gain momentum in the effort to mass vaccinate against COVID-19, ticking past significant milestones on almost a daily basis. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/3/21

Why San Francisco opened COVID vaccines to some residents as young as 16 - three weeks ahead of the state -- The move came a day after state gave providers serving low-income communities discretion to vaccinate people as young as 16 who are at highest risk. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/3/21

Opening  

California sets reopening date and guidelines for indoor concerts -- In a big step toward a more complete reopening, California officials announced Friday that indoor concerts, theater performances and other private events and gatherings can reopen April 15. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ Jeong Park and Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ Chris Hagan, Nicole Nixon Capital Public Radio Peter Larsen in the Orange County Register -- 4/3/21

California plans to retire color-coded tiers, as more Bay Area counties poised to enter orange -- California is preparing to retire its color-coded tiered reopening plan as vaccination rates improve and coronavirus cases continue to drop, state officials said Friday, as several Bay Area counties prepared to move into a less restrictive tier next week. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/3/21

Kings fans can return to Golden 1 Center soon under California’s new COVID-19 guidelines -- State officials announced new guidelines Friday that will allow sports fans to return to arenas, ballparks and stadiums beginning April 15 with strict COVID-19 protocols and capacity restrictions in place. Jason Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/3/21

Return of live indoor events raises hopes, questions in San Diego County -- The news comes at a time when it’s increasingly likely that San Diego County will move into the state’s second least restrictive reopening tier next Wednesday, with about 587,000 residents fully vaccinated. Jonathan Wosen, George Varga, Lori Weisberg, Pam Kragen in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/3/21

Appeals Court Rejects Chula Vista Church’s Challenge To Occupancy Limits -- An appeals court rejected a Chula Vista church's request on Friday to block California's occupancy limits on indoor worship ahead of Easter Sunday. The order from a three-justice panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the latest legal challenge brought by South Bay United Pentecostal Church. KPBS -- 4/3/21

School  

Teachers approve West Contra Costa Unified’s school reopening plan -- Teachers in the West Contra Costa Unified School District have ratified a reopening plan that will allow all willing students to return to campuses on April 19, the union said Friday. Shomik Mukherjee in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/3/21

Sacramento teacher likens parents pushing for faster school openings to white supremacy -- A Latin teacher at a Sacramento high school has sparked controversy after making a Facebook post and commenting during a school board meeting suggesting local parents were expressing “structurally white-supremacist” views, as he lambasted their calls for teachers to reopen campuses from COVID-19 shutdowns more fully and quickly. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/3/21

Almost 75% of San Diego families responding to survey want their kids in schools -- About 73 percent of San Diego Unified families who responded to a recent district survey said they want schools to return to in-person instruction. The actual percentage of families who want to return to campuses is likely lower, school officials say, because thousands of families did not respond to the survey. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/3/21

The Bench  

California judicial watchdog commission admonishes L.A. judge for third time -- A state judicial watchdog commission publicly admonished Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Patrick E. Connolly on Friday — his third time being disciplined — for inappropriate demeanor and remarks. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

Policy & Politics 

Oakland Guaranteed Income Program Now Says It's Not Exclusively for People of Color -- After initially asking exclusively for applicants of color, organizers of a pilot program to provide a guaranteed income to hundreds of low-income Oaklanders now say all residents who meet the program's criteria are welcome to apply, regardless of race. Guy Marzorati KQED -- 4/3/21

California’s Governor Was Tested by the Pandemic. Now a Recall Looms -- In California, both Republicans and Democrats say the threat of a recall election has shaped Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Shawn Hubler and Jill Cowan in the New York Times$ -- 4/3/21

‘There is no middle ground’: Corporate America feels the pressure on voting rights -- After weeks of tepid engagement, corporate America has plunged fully into the battle over ballot access as business leaders scramble to take more forceful stances against a slew of voting restriction bills in statehouses across the country. Melanie Mason, Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

California Lawmakers Proposing Significant Nursing Home Reform Package -- Prompted by the high COVID-19 death toll at California’s nursing homes, along with long-standing problems at the facilities, state lawmakers are proposing a package of bills aimed at reforming senior care and how the industry reports its profits. Amita Sharma KPBS -- 4/3/21

Barabak: Conspiracies run amok. (Did you hear the one about Joan Rivers, Michelle Obama and the Clintons?) -- Barack Obama was about to become president, and Kathryn Olmsted was worried. The historian, an expert on the combustible blend of politics, conspiracy and paranoia, feared her new book on the subject would soon be irrelevant. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

Street  

Embattled Vallejo Police Department fires two lieutenants, including union president -- Two Vallejo police lieutenants — one the union president and the other an officer with nearly 50 years on the force — were fired this week, the result of separate internal affairs investigations in a department mired in controversy. David DeBolt in the San Jose Mercury$ Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/3/21

Hate crime probe in Los Gatos after Asian medical worker attacked on street -- Filipina woman reported being shoved to the ground from behind Tuesday afternoonby man who yelled, “go back to (expletive) China” Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/3/21

As homicides spike, Oakland's police chief tests a new strategy -- Two months into his new job, Oakland’s police chief is searching for answers to a rise in murder cases that started with the shutdown and now threatens to unwind years of progress. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/3/21

LAPD open fire during standoff with woman known as ‘the mermaid’ in MacArthur Park -- Los Angeles police opened fire Friday afternoon while responding to a report of a woman armed with a gun in MacArthur Park, prompting the woman to jump into the park’s lake and engage officers in a watery, three-hour standoff. Matthew Ormseth, Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

Beverly Hills store let criminals stash guns, drugs and cash in vault at strip mall, prosecutors say -- When federal agents descended on a Beverly Hills strip mall last month, it took them five days to seize the contents of hundreds of safe deposit boxes inside a store called U.S. Private Vaults. Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

‘My angel;’ a father remembers his boy, slain in Orange shooting spree -- The last thing Rafael Farias remembers hearing from his son, Matthew, were the words the little boy told him every day: “I love you, Daddy.” Hours later, on Wednesday, March 31, a gunman locked down an office complex in Orange and shot and killed four people, including Matthew. Theresa Walker, Susan Christian Goulding in the Orange County Register -- 4/3/21

Education 

University of California warns students and workers about computer attack targeting files -- The University of California this week warned its employees and students about a cybersecurity attack that copied and transferred files by exploiting a vulnerability in one of its systems. Rosalio Ahumada in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/3/21

Carlos Cortez, idea-a-minute historian, gets a shot at energizing San Diego community colleges -- The 46-year-old educator takes over a district dealing with a pandemic and plunging enrollment. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/3/21

Homeless  

Oakland: Unique new housing caters to young people in need -- Sandoval, who had been homeless since his father kicked him out at 18, moved into the Tiny House Empowerment Village in Oakland earlier this year. The 22-year-old went from sleeping in a tent and scavenging food from garbage cans to planning for college. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/3/21

Ministry that serves downtown homeless in crisis -- After 97 years in San Diego, God’s Extended Hand may be preparing to serve its last meals to homeless people downtown. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/3/21

Housing  

The Housing Market Is Crazier Than It’s Been Since 2006 -- Less than a day after real-estate agent Andrea White listed a three-bedroom home for sale in Sacramento, Calif., in March, she received an all-cash offer. The buyer—who had not even seen the home in person—was ready to pay $520,000, Ms. White said. That was $21,000 above the asking price and 37% more than the seller had paid for the ranch-style home only two years ago. Nicole Friedman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/3/21

Also . . .   

San Diego Symphony fine-tunes The Shell, its new $85 million bayside venue, and prepares to launch concerts -- The Shell is likely the most ambitious new outdoor concert venue of any kind to open in Southern California, if not the state, since Coors Amphitheatre (now North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre) opened in Chula Vista in 1998. George Varga in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/3/21

Al Rojas, staunch defender of farmworkers and prominent member of UFW, dies -- While the United Farm Workers union prepared to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Delano grape boycott, Al Rojas was too busy plotting his next move to partake in the festivities. Priscella Vega in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21

Kenneth C. Kelly, Champion of Desegregation in California, Dies at 94 -- When Mr. Kelly, an engineer, wasn’t designing ways to communicate with spacecraft, he was opening doors for Black families to move into the San Fernando Valley. Clay Risen in the New York Times$ -- 4/3/21

Three arrested after an image of a cow’s head is hung over the Hollywood sign -- For the second time in two months, the Hollywood sign has been altered — this time with the image of a cow’s head placed over the first “O.” Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/3/21