Updating . .   

Is it finally safe to get back to normal, pre-COVID-19 life? Here’s what experts say -- In many ways, this week is a turning point in the battle against COVID-19. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

U.S. economic growth surges in 1st quarter, foreshadowing booming recovery from pandemic -- Just a year after a new coronavirus blew a crater-size hole in the U.S. economy, the recovery gained momentum in the first quarter as growth surged at a strong 6.4% annual rate, government data released Thursday show. Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

COVID jobs: California unemployment claims rise again, but stay under 100,000 -- California workers filed 75,500 initial claims for unemployment during the week ended April 24, which was 2,600 more than the claims filed in the prior week, the U.S. Labor Department reported. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/29/21

Bay Area freeway traffic has rebounded, but congestion has not. Is this the new normal? -- If John McDonald, a space flight engineer, commuted to work at UC Berkeley by car, he usually had a 15-minute window to leave his Pleasanton home in order to make it on time before Interstate 580 got clogged with miserable bumper-to-bumper traffic. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

At-home COVID-19 test arrives in the Bay Area -- First, the bad news: You still have to stick a long swab up your nose. But there’s a lot to love about a quick new at-home COVID-19 test, called BinexNOW, the latest tool in a growing movement that empowers people to take control of their own health. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/29/21

Open  

It’s not just the paycheck. Disneyland workers say why they’re eager to return -- For the last few weeks, Glynndana Shevlin has been anxiously monitoring her phone, waiting for a call from the Disneyland Hotel to ask her to return to her job as a food and beverage concierge. Hugo Martín in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Disneyland is reopening. Here’s your ultimate guide to the park -- Ready to return to the Happiest Place on Earth? Don’t go unprepared. If you were lucky enough to score a ticket on what was a 28-hour odyssey for some, here’s everything you’ll need to know. Christina Schoellkopf, Rachel Schnalzer in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Charter School  

CA Assembly committee advances school accountability bill that charter schools oppose -- AB 1316 supporters say nothing in the bill would make a charter school close, but some charter supporters are unconvinced. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/29/21

Policy & Politics 

This mom protested vaccines, then started a ‘militia.’ How California extremism is changing -- In the spring of 2019, a trio of women set out to block new vaccine rules for California’s public school kids. Fueled by online conspiracy theories and misinformation, they disrupted legislative hearings and enlisted their friends to barricade the state Capitol entrance. Hannah Wiley, Ryan Sabalow, and Jason Pohl in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/29/21

Anti-mask politician compares herself to civil rights icon Rosa Parks, sparking anger and support -- A Temecula City Council member who compared her fight against face mask mandates to Rosa Parks’ bus demonstration for civil rights has touched off a weeks-long controversy in the majority-white Riverside County city where residents are sharply divided over the comments and Black community members have expressed anger over the remarks. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Stephen Colbert mocks California city councilmember who compared her mask defiance with Rosa Parks -- Councilmember Jessica Alexander’s comparison of mask wearing to Rosa Parks’ struggle made the opening monologue Tuesday night, April 27, of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” Jeff Horseman in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/29/21

Skelton: California’s sluggish population growth has lost us a congressional seat. That should concern us -- California has now joined the Rust Belt states in losing national political clout because of sluggish population growth. Should we worry about that? Darn right! George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Did US Census undercount Latinos? Here’s how California found hard-to-reach residents -- Preliminary findings released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau show that states with large Latino populations like Texas, Florida and Arizona did not gain the congressional representation that demographers expected, raising questions about a possible undercount among Latinos. California, another state with a large Latino population, was among seven to lose a congressional seat. Kim Bojórquez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/29/21

Barabak: ‘Pleasantly boring,’ or how Joe Biden succeeds by not being Donald Trump -- Aaron Elkins is a political independent with little use for Democrats or Republicans. He’s never been a fan of Donald Trump and couldn’t bring himself to support Joe Biden. So in November he voted for a third-party candidate he can’t even remember. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

State agency finds San Jose measure overwhelmingly approved by voters is partly illegal -- Just five months after San Jose voters overwhelmingly approved expanding the number of table games in the city’s two card rooms, a California regulatory agency has found that part of the ballot measure violates state law and must be scrapped. Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/29/21

Landlords and Tenants  

Capitol mum on eviction moratorium extension as renters seek more time -- With two months to go before a statewide eviction moratorium expired in January, lawmakers, lobbyists and the governor’s staff were already deep into negotiations on an extension. Nigel Duara CalMatters -- 4/29/21

Apparent landlord-tenant dispute turns deadly in Antioch -- A 52-year-old Antioch man was shot and killed Wednesday in what police said appeared to be a dispute between a landlord and tenant. Vanessa Arredondo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Gig Workplace  

California gig workers are entitled to a new healthcare subsidy, but many go uninsured -- California drivers for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other app-based companies are eligible for a health insurance stipend stemming from the ballot initiative voters approved last fall exempting those companies from a new state labor law. Jeong Park in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/29/21

Street  

Video showing officer’s knee on Mario Gonzalez’s back before he died alarms experts -- Several law enforcement use-of-force experts have expressed deep concerns about a body camera video that shows an Alameda police officer appearing to put a knee on the back of a 26-year-old Latino man for more than four minutes as he gasped for breath and eventually died. Richard Winton, Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

FBI investigating Sacramento prison plagued by inmate slayings, hazing -- Federal agents are investigating potential wrongdoing by guards at California State Prison, Sacramento, the troubled institution where correctional officers have been accused of conspiring with inmates to orchestrate two murders of other prisoners, sources have told The Sacramento Bee. Sam Stanton and Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/29/21

After legendary Bay Area bicyclist dies in car accident, cyclists crusade for safety -- Simmering anger between cyclists and motorists on Bay Area roads hit a new level this month when a cult cycling hero from the East Bay, 86-year-old Joe Shami, was struck and killed by an SUV April 13 at a roundabout in Lafayette. Shami was closing in on 100,000 miles ridden on his bicycle. Tom Stienstra in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Two killed, several injured after police pursuits in Inglewood and West Hollywood -- In Inglewood, a 27-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were killed when a driver fleeing California Highway Patrol officers crashed into their vehicle around 10:35 p.m., according to Officer Franco Pepi, a spokesman for CHP’s West L.A. division. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Climate  

Corporate secrecy over climate change targeted by Washington and California -- California clean tech innovator Bloom Energy, with its noncombustion, low-emission fuel cells, is hardly taking the same approach to powering the planet as oil giant Chevron, but one thing the companies have in common are slick promotional campaigns defining them as environmental pioneers. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Fire  

This massive network of wildfire cameras helps California save lives -- As California gears up for what could be another destructive fire season, the state’s firefighting agencies have a powerful tool at their disposal that has gone somewhat unheralded: the largest wildfire camera network in the world. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Develop  

A $2-billion mega-project could reshape the Arts District -- Blows to businesses during the pandemic have deadened the streets of downtown Los Angeles and threaten long-term changes to office life, but builders are pressing ahead with major projects in the belief that the city still has a lot of room to grow as times get better. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Also . . .   

Inside the search for answers about Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ overdose death -- The day after Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room, Eric Kay, the team’s longtime communications director, leaned against a blue cinder block wall during a news conference at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. Nathan Fenno in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Elliot Katz, fervent animal rights activist who was arrested 37 times, dies at 78 -- A fervent love of animals and unwavering moral compass won Katz both admirers, including the well-known chimpanzee expert Dr. Jane Goodall, and critics, ruffling fur and feathers along the way. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

California Policy and P  olitics Thursday Morning  

Poll: Californians like how governor handled school closures -- The Public Policy Institute of California poll showing 57% of adults and 64% of public school parents approve of Newsom’s handling of K-12 education comes as the Democratic governor prepares to face a recall election this fall, driven in part by frustration with school closures. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ Jeremy B. White and MacKenzie Mays Politico Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

California has lowest COVID-19 rate in America: Here’s why -- Big turnaround due to continued vaccine rollout, masks and immunity from past surges, experts say. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/29/21

Vaccine  

Vaccines Aplenty But Some Californians Struggle To Get One -- Hearing of excess vaccine and unfilled appointments frustrates Dr. Aaron Roland, a family physician who has been lobbying for doses to inoculate his patients, many of whom are low-income, immigrants or elderly. Janie Har Associated Press -- 4/29/21

COVID Economy  

Garcetti aims to give thousands to COVID-stung businesses. Owners call it ‘a drop in the bucket’ -- Business owners say they need more relief following a year of uncertainty, big drops in sales, layoffs and significant losses. Olga Grigoryants in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/29/21

School  

S.F. schools seek reopening consultant a year after the board shot down the idea -- San Francisco schools are looking for outside experts to help guide the process to reopen schools in August, which will include navigating changing health guidelines, parent feedback and labor negotiations. If the job description sounds familiar, it is. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Open  

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is coming back this year, for the first time since the 2019 mass shooting -- The Gilroy Garlic Festival is preparing to return this summer after it was shut down last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers said. This year’s event will also be the first since the deadly mass shooting at the festival in 2019. Vanessa Arredondo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Policy & Politics 

Sheriff’s Chief Eliezer Vera announces run for L.A. County sheriff against Villanueva -- Chief Eliezer Vera said he decided to try to unseat his boss in order to bring a level of stability to a Sheriff’s Department that he said has been roiled by Villanueva’s clashes with other elected officials and oversight bodies. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Investigator: Trump ‘traitor’ comment from Sacramento supervisor didn’t violate policy -- A law firm hired to review Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna’s scathing social media posts found no evidence that his comments about President Donald Trump supporters violated any policies against discrimination, retaliation or harassment. Michael Finch II in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/29/21

California mulls letting adults add parents to health plans -- California could become the only state to let adult children add their parents as dependents to their health insurance plans, a policy proposal aimed at increasing insurance coverage among low-income people living in the country illegally who aren’t eligible for government-funded coverage. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 4/29/21

Biggest surprise for newest California Supreme Court justice is he was the governor's pick -- When he was appointed to the California Supreme Court in November, Martin Jenkins became the court’s first openly gay justice, and its fifth African American. And maybe also the justice who was the most surprised to be there. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

How a photo and a Long Beach book drive led to a false story and attacks on Kamala Harris -- Last week, Long Beach announced it would repurpose its convention center to temporarily house up to 1,000 unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. Erin B. Logan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Off-duty LAPD officer shot in chest in Sherman Oaks, officials say -- Few details about the shooting were immediately available. Cmdr. Alan Hamilton, of the Valley Bureau, said the officer was in “critical but stable condition.” Leila Miller, Kevin Rector, James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Water  

Stunning drone photos over Lake Oroville show drought emergency in Northern California -- Water levels at Lake Oroville have dropped to 42% of its 3,537,577 acre foot capacity. Conditions are particularly acute in Mendocino and Sonoma counties because the local water supply depends on rainfall in the Russian River watershed. Justin Sullivan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

East Bay water district urges residents to conserve water due to drought conditions -- The district, whose board of directors declared a Stage 1 drought on Tuesday, provides drinking water to 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Drought-depleted rivers force salmon hatcheries to truck fish to sea -- Millions of young salmon raised at fish hatcheries in the Central Valley will be trucked to San Francisco Bay and other coastal sites for release, because the rivers they’d normally travel to the sea are drying up, state and federal officials said Wednesday. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Street  

State Supreme Court needed to resolve conflict in police disciplinary procedure -- Police officers who are being questioned by a disciplinary agency have no right to see the agency’s confidential reports until the questioning is over, a state appeals court has ruled in an Oakland case. Because another appeals court reached the opposite conclusion in an earlier case, the dispute must now be resolved by the state Supreme Court. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

What we know about the death of Mario Gonzalez after police pinned him down for 4 minutes -- It’s a video that has drawn comparison to that of the George Floyd killing. On April 19, police in the Bay Area city of Alameda responded to a report of an intoxicated man and a possible theft. Richard Winton, Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ Olga R. Rodriguez and Don Thompson Associated Press -- 4/29/21

Gunman in deadly L.A. shooting rampage had an arsenal of weapons at home, sources say -- A gunman who went on a shooting rampage in Los Angeles on Tuesday — killing two people and wounding two others — had an arsenal of weapons at his home and possessed a legally purchased AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, law enforcement sources told The Times as more details about the incident emerged. Faith E. Pinho, Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Protesters demand release of video in fatal Escondido police shooting -- Escondido police say body-worn camera footage of Officer Chad Moore shooting Steven Olson is expected to be released this week. Gary Warth, Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/29/21

Community leaders continue push for San Diego County to support federal policing bill -- The Board of Supervisors next week will consider whether to direct the chief administrative officer to support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. David Hernandez in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/29/21

Gig Work   

Federal court rules California’s gig economy law applies to another group of workers -- The ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals could apply to as many as 70,000 truck drivers in California who continued to work classified as independent contractors after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the gig economy law known as Assembly Bill 5 in 2019. Jeong Park in the Sacramento Bee$ Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Taxes  

San Francisco tax on commercial rents to fund child care gets judicial OK -- The state Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for San Francisco to pay for additional child care and early education services with commercial rent taxes approved by 51% of the city’s voters in June 2018. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Education  

Mental health, equity should be schools’ focus as students return, report says -- To help students readjust to life after the pandemic, schools should use their Covid-relief funding windfall to imbue mental health, equity and relationships into every aspect of the school day, according to a sweeping new report released Thursday. Carolyn Jones EdSource -- 4/29/21

Biden's plan for families could bolster California's push for early education, care -- President Joe Biden’s relief plan for families, which he rolled out in Wednesday’s address to a joint session of Congress, may well be a transformative move for children, early childhood advocates say, taking a historic step toward establishing a seamless system of early education and care. Karen D'Souza EdSource -- 4/29/21

Environment  

Questions linger about environmental impact of Poseidon plant -- Every year that it converts a bit of the Pacific Ocean into drinking water, the proposed Huntington Beach desalination plant would kill tiny marine life crucial to the sea’s food web. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21

Border  

Without immigration, California could have lost two congressional seats -- California’s growth was so sluggish, in fact, that it would have needed nearly half a million more people to keep the representative it lost, and it would have lost a second one had it grown by 284,400 fewer people. Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Also . . .   

Bay Area residents with close ties to India grapple with suffering of loved ones in pandemic-ravaged nation -- When Rahul Suryawanshi started his job as a research scientist at San Francisco’s Gladstone Institutes in early January, the pandemic was raging in the Bay Area. The situation was much brighter back in India, where his family had been locked down for months. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/21

Search for entangled baby whale off Northern California -- Marine mammal experts are asking the public to help locate a gray whale calf entangled in fishing gear that is believed to be swimming through Monterey Bay or ocean waters farther north. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/29/21

POTUS 46  

6 takeaways from President Biden’s address to Congress -- President Biden closed out his first 100 days in office urging a pandemic-fatigued nation to remain vigilant, but also underscoring how far it has come since he moved into the White House: lockdowns are lifting, the economic outlook is brightening, a big stimulus package put money in people’s pockets and created landmark improvements to the social safety net. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/21