Updating . .   

L.A. County relaxes outdoor mask rules for those vaccinated. But there are exceptions -- Los Angeles County is relaxing its mask-wearing order to allow fully vaccinated people to stop wearing masks outdoors in uncrowded situations, echoing new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Here's when kids age 12-15 might get vaccinated in the Bay Area -- The first coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds is expected to receive federal approval in May, and public health and school officials are preparing for how best to reach this young group and persuade kids — and their parents — to get the shots. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/21

Dodger Stadium vaccine site to close amid demand slowdown -- In another sign of slowing demand for the COVID-19 vaccine, Los Angeles city officials announced on Friday that the mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium — one of the largest in the country — will cease operations by the end of May, as part of a major shift to increase appointment-free vaccine availability at other city-run sites. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

COVID-19 took away their last moments together. Now families cherish what was left behind -- For families of COVID-19 victims who could not be in the hospital room as their relatives drew a final breath, their loved ones’ belongings — items of clothing, Bibles, jewelry — become deeply cherished. Marisa Gerber, Dania Maxwell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Is it OK to start networking again in San Diego? Coffee, events and all things in-person -- As more San Diegans get vaccinated, some white-collar workers are stepping back into the social business world. Brittany Meiling in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/30/21

Policy & Politics 

How a $1-million donation on behalf of Newsom was hidden in plain sight -- The $1-million donation came as the COVID-19 crisis was unfolding, a charitable gift given on behalf of Gov. Gavin Newsom last year. But unlike with other so-called behested payments, philanthropic contributions made at the request of an elected official, the source of the donation was concealed in public disclosures required under a state law meant to ensure transparency and limit undue influence in government. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Newsom’s $1B wildfire plan favors Sierra Nevada logging over homeowners -- Scientists contend that hot, dry, windy conditions fuel the state’s most deadly and destructive blazes — not overgrown forests. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/30/21

Voters in these California counties carried the Gavin Newsom recall to the ballot -- Republican-leaning Northern California counties had the biggest turnout in signing the petition to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, state data shows. Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/30/21

Clark: CA lost a House seat despite massive census outreach; but there are more issues -- She believes a huge segment of the immigrant population did not respond to the census because the Trump Administration’s failed effort to include a citizenship question on the census worked anyway; it made them afraid to respond. Charles T. Clark in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/30/21

New reform measures target fraud, kickbacks in California’s end-of-life care industry -- Widespread fraud, kickbacks and other abuses in an industry meant to provide comforting care for the dying are the focus of reform proposals that call for a temporary halt to new licenses and a crackdown on patient-recruiting schemes in California’s booming hospice business. Kim Christensen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Placerville is keeping the nickname ‘Hangtown’ after removing a noose from its logo -- Two weeks after Placerville opted to nix a noose depicted on its city logo, officials affirmed that the area’s Gold Rush-era name, “Hangtown,” won’t be going anywhere. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Some big cities have reduced police budgets. Sacramento’s is set to hit a record high -- Despite the creation of a new city department designed to shift certain duties away from police, the city of Sacramento’s police budget is set to hit an all-time-high $165.8 million in the upcoming fiscal year. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/30/21

COVID Economy  

Layoffs surface in Bay Area despite jobs upswing -- Lumentum, Boston Scientific, Hitachi Vantara, Off The Grid Services (also known as The Whole Cart), Target, and MobiTV have revealed layoffs or facilities closures that together affect more than 800 workers, according to official notices posted by the state Employment Development Department. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/30/21

The remote work revolution is transforming, and unsettling, resort areas like Lake Tahoe -- or years, Ben Jarso couldn’t mix work and play. He worked at Facebook in Silicon Valley and on weekends drove almost four hours to Lake Tahoe to hit the ski slopes. When pandemic-related restrictions freed him to work remotely, he decided to merge his passions. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Tourists slowly returning to San Diego, but recovery from pandemic still years off -- New forecast predicts a 74 percent increase in visitors this year, but the overall number of expected tourists still falls far short of the county’s record-breaking visitation in 2019. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/30/21

Open  

Disneyland reopens: ‘This is a homecoming for us,’ says a parkgoer in tears -- Disneyland and Disney California Adventure opened their gates to guests Friday after an unprecedented 13-month closure, welcoming parkgoers to stroll down Main Street USA, pay a visit to the Haunted Mansion and scream down Splash Mountain as the COVID-19 pandemic loosens its grip on the state. Hugo MartÍn, Todd Martens in the Los Angeles Times$ Brady MacDonald in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/30/21

Street  

One arrested, one sought in Bay Area car-intrusion purse robberies targeting Asian women -- olice have arrested one man and are seeking another suspect in connection with a series of smash-and-grab robberies targeting Asian women, where the pair allegedly boxed in motorists in parking lots then reached into or broke into their cars and took purses and other items with the victims still inside. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/30/21

Man who drove truck through George Floyd protest in Southern California faces 3 years in prison on weapons charges -- A San Marino man who drove a pick-up truck affixed with a train horn through a crowd of protesters in Pasadena last year while spewing exhaust on them now faces nearly three years in federal prison on a slate of conspiracy and illegal weapons charges. Josh Cain in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/30/21

Also . . .   

Judge gives Harvey Weinstein’s attorneys 30 days to challenge extradition to L.A. -- Harvey Weinstein will remain in a New York state prison for at least 30 more days as his attorneys challenge plans to extradite him to Los Angeles to face rape and sexual assault charges. James Queally, Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

How Trump scored a big tax break for conserving a golf range -- When Donald Trump bought his seaside golf course in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb in 2002, he vowed to surround it with “some of the most beautiful houses in California.” But the 261-acre property on the Palos Verdes Peninsula had a problem. Joseph Tanfani, Jaimi Dowdell Reuters -- 4/30/21

California Policy and P  olitics Friday Morning  

Appointments for first dose of COVID-19 vaccine drop by half in L.A. County, alarming public health officials -- Appointments for the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine have decreased by about 50% in Los Angeles County, alarming public health officials who call it a worrisome trend that reflects the slowdown in vaccination rates across the state and country. Colleen Shalby, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Lot of People in Solano County Are Skipping Their Second Vaccine Dose -- In Solano County, 15% of people who got their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine missed their appointment for a second dose. That's twice the national rate reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. April Dembosky and Kate Wolffe KQED -- 4/30/21

Orange County vaccination sites will resume use of Johnson & Johnson shot -- The Johnson & Johnson pause was a minor setback in Orange County’s mass vaccination drive. Of nearly 2.5 million vaccines given in Orange County so far, the vast majority have been either of the two-dose brands, Pfizer or Moderna, according to California Department of Public Health data. Less than 3% of doses administered to date were Johnson & Johnson. Ian Wheeler in the Orange County Register -- 4/30/21

In California, Known Infections After Vaccination Are Very Low So Far -- California and Bay Area health officials are tracking cases of people who have contracted COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated. Laura Klivans KQED -- 4/30/21

More women than men are getting the COVID vaccine in Sacramento County -- About 56% of the 1,663 deaths in Sacramento County were among men, despite the fact that more women have contracted the virus in the county. Of the more than 563,000 people who’ve received a dose of the vaccine in Sacramento County, about 43% are men and 57% are women. Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/30/21

Outbreak  

Coronavirus outbreak in Humboldt County is linked to local church -- Health officials in Northern California’s Humboldt County are attributing a recent spike in coronavirus cases to mass gatherings in the area, including one outbreak linked to a Pentecostal church. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Open  

Disneyland opening highlights California’s COVID turnaround -- Four months ago, America’s most populous state was struggling to combat a surge in coronavirus hospitalizations that packed patients into outdoor tents and killed hundreds of people each day. Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 4/30/21

Let the good times flow: California is allowing water parks to reopen -- Along with providing an extra splash of fun heading into the summer, the imminent return of the aquatic play areas adds to a tidal wave of reopenings that has washed over the state as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to recede. Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Sheriff’s Department to resume allowing jail visits -- The county Sheriff’s Department said it will resume allowing jail inmates to have visitors in some of its detention facilities starting Saturday. Karen Kucher in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/30/21

San Francisco is set to enter the yellow tier. Here's what will reopen -- Once it reaches that level indicating minimal virus risk, a spot San Francisco held only once briefly before the winter surge hit, the city can open most businesses indoors with modifications. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/21

School  

UTLA president: LAUSD campus reopenings have generally gone well, ‘but the exhaustion is real’ -- Head of teachers union says it’s too early to tell if district should reopen schools full time to all students by fall semester. Linh Tat in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/30/21

COVID Economy  

Gavin Newsom signs tax break on pandemic loans for many California businesses -- Many California businesses won’t have to pay state taxes on their federal pandemic loans under a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Thursday. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/30/21

Water  

California Senate Proposes To Spend $3.4 Billion On Drought -- Mired in yet another drought that threatens drinking water, endangered species of fish and the state's massive agriculture industry, Democrats in the California Senate on Thursday detailed a $3.4 billion proposal designed to gird the state for a new crisis on the heels of a deadly and disruptive pandemic. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 4/30/21

Facing Droughts, California Challenges Nestlé Over Water Use -- A draft cease-and-desist letter sent to BlueTriton — known until this month as Nestlé Waters North America — is the latest development in a yearslong battle over water resources in the San Bernardino area. Jacey Fortin in the New York Times$ -- 4/30/21

PG&E  

Federal judge takes action to improve PG&E power shut-offs, tree trimming -- A federal judge on Thursday sought to make Pacific Gas and Electric Co. pay closer attention to trees that could fall on its power lines as the company tries to avoid causing more calamitous wildfires this year. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/21

Policy & Politics 

Who wants to recall Gov. Newsom? Signatures point to Trump’s California -- Though petitions were signed all across the state, the highest concentrations of signatures were found in the rural northeast, areas with low coronavirus case counts and where voters heavily favored former President Donald Trump. Swetha Kannan and Sandhya Kambhampati in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Is this the year the California Legislature closes the digital divide? -- It only took a global pandemic, a year spent working and studying at home and a once-in-a-generation spending blitz from the federal government, but 2021 might be the year that California finally goes big on broadband. Ben Christopher CalMatters -- 4/30/21

California could ban sale of gas-powered leaf blowers under proposed clean air law -- California would ban the sale of new gas-powered leaf-blowers, lawnmowers and other “small off-road engines” as soon as 2024, under a bill being considered by state lawmakers. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/30/21

California looks to ease permitting process for rooftop solar panels -- The goal is simple: dramatically reduce the time it takes for contractors to receive standard permits from local governments. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/21

Street  

Jury awards family of Black man nearly $2.3 million in ‘I can’t breathe’ Anaheim police death -- After a six-week trial in which jurors heard how Anaheim police officers put so much weight on a Black man that he could not breathe and those were his last words, a jury found they used excessive force and were mostly to blame for his death, and awarded his parents nearly $2.3 million in damages. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

‘You’re gonna get shot!’ Escondido police release video of fatal shooting of homeless man holding crowbar -- Patrol Officer Chad Moore shot 59-year-old Steven Olson six times in the April 21 encounter. Teri Figueroa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/30/21

Lawyer: San Diego police were present when MTS officers pinned man to ground, held a knee to his neck -- The investigative report on the death of Angel Zapata Hernandez won’t be released because the MTS workers involved are not police officers subject to a police transparency law. Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/30/21

LAPD lifts ban on some hard-foam projectile weapons at protests after judge revises order -- The LAPD confirmed Thursday that it is putting its 37-millimeter projectile launchers back in the field for use, albeit under several remaining restrictions in U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall’s revised restraining order. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

How a first date led to a murder, a cover-up and a huge wildfire that killed 2 -- It was a first date out of a horror movie. Priscilla Castro, a 32-year-old from Vallejo, was headed to Vacaville on a Wednesday evening in August to meet Victor Serriteno, a 28-year-old she’d met through an online dating app. Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Police release footage from SWAT killing of armed fugitive at San Diego High School -- San Diego SWAT snipers shot and killed Christopher Marquez allegedly believing he was about to shoot his girlfriend after a nearly 11-hour standoff. Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/30/21

Head of Chinatown Chamber of Commerce assaulted in downtown Oakland -- The president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, an outspoken public safety advocate, said he was attacked Thursday afternoon while walking downtown to run an errand, then visit the home of an assault victim. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/21

5 arrested in shooting of Lady Gaga’s dogwalker and theft of her bulldogs in L.A. -- When a middle-aged woman walked into a Los Angeles police station with two of Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs in late February, she claimed she had simply come across the dogs tied to a pole, police said at the time. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Watchdog group sues L.A. County over disclosure of misconduct records -- A law enforcement watchdog group is suing Los Angeles County in an effort to force the disclosure of details of roughly 1,000 misconduct claims and lawsuits against the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office. Sean Emery in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/30/21

Fact Check: Did San Francisco Have ‘Twice As Many Drug Overdose Deaths As COVID Deaths’ In 2020? -- San Francisco’s early and dramatic response to the coronavirus last year earned it praise as a model for fighting the pandemic. But during that time, was the city also experiencing a surge of fatal drug overdoses that far outpaced its COVID-19 deaths? Chris Nichols Capital Public Radio -- 4/30/21

Homeless  

Will California spend $20 billion on homelessness? -- Bay Area mayors on Thursday urged the state to do something unprecedented — spend $20 billion in a multi-year effort to combat California’s massive homelessness crisis. Their proposal would dedicate $4 billion every year for five years to continue the historic efforts California has made to house and shelter people during the pandemic. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/30/21

S.F. celebrated turning hotel into permanent homeless housing. But transition has been 'bumpy' -- After two decades of being homeless, James Hixson is grateful to have a door to lock. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/21

Environment  

Poseidon wins key seawater desalination permit -- But the permit from the Santa Ana Regional Quality Control Board does not ensure that the $1-billion ocean desalter will rise on the grounds of an old power plant in Huntington Beach. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

Develop  

$47 million settlement reached in World Logistics Center lawsuit -- To build the warehouse complex in Moreno Valley, developer will help truckers buy electric vehicles, protect wildlife and pay for air filters for area residents. Beau Yarbrough in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 4/30/21

Also . . .   

Where are Asian American communities growing the fastest? Not California -- It was an unexpected twist that led the Rev. Yuanlai Zhang — a minister who lived among 13 million others in the hot and humid Chinese city of Shenzhen — to start a new life on the sparse and frigid prairie of North Dakota. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/21

POTUS 46  

Joe Biden is no progressive, but progressives like him - so far -- Joe Biden is no progressive. Never has been. He wasn’t the favorite of California Democrats in last year’s Democratic primary, when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won the state. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/21