Newsletter: Essential California Week in Review: More checks, fewer masks?

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, May 15.

Here’s a look at the top stories of the last week:

Budget proposals. California would embark on the most ambitious era of government spending in more than half a century under the budget proposed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, one that relies on a bonanza of tax dollars surpassing even the rosiest predictions. His list of spending priorities, many introduced with proposals this week, is dizzying: new stimulus checks, transitional kindergarten, healthcare for seniors without legal immigration status and fighting homelessness.

Masks off? Newsom said Wednesday that California could soon ease its mask mandates, and on Thursday, federal officials issued new guidance saying fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks in most places. But some health experts wonder whether officials moved too fast, and cities like L.A. aren’t going to lift regulations immediately. The mixed messages are forcing businesses to shoulder the burden, and they’re raising some questions to which we have answers.

Vaccines vs. variants. Officials say Los Angeles County is on track to have 80% of people 16 and older vaccinated by late July — a number that would bode well for herd immunity. This week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in kids 12-15, and confidence is growing that the available COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the variants in circulation.

Fire risk. As the number of tents, makeshift shelters and campers on Los Angeles streets has surged, so has the scourge of fire. So far in 2021, fires related to homelessness occurred at a rate of 24 a day, making up 54% of all fires the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to.

Open but empty. Only 7% of high school students have returned to campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Extensive safety measures have failed to lure back the vast majority of families in the final weeks of school.

Recall isn’t popular. The campaign to recall Newsom has failed to gain momentum in recent months as significantly more California voters favor keeping him in office, with little support for Republican candidates, according to a new poll.

Not-so-Golden Globes. As pressure has grown on the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., the organization behind the Golden Globes, NBC announced it will not air the awards in 2022.

Honoring Kobe Bryant. More than a year after the basketball star died in a helicopter crash, he will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend as fans remember his legacy.

This week’s most popular stories in Essential California

1. Where is California growing? These 10 cities saw their populations increase in 2020. Sacramento Bee

2. An Irvine man used COVID relief loans to buy a Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini, federal authorities say. Los Angeles Times

3. How to visit the secret L.A. cactus sanctuary you never knew existed. Los Angeles Times

4. The trouble with the Gavin Newsom recall. The Atlantic

5. Every show scheduled for the Hollywood Bowl this summer (so far). Los Angeles Times

ICYMI, here are this week’s great reads

Subscriber exclusive: Cruising is back on the streets of L.A. Call it a function of collective boredom during months of stay-at-home orders. The custom of leisurely drives in lowriders and custom cars never really left Southern California’s urban boulevards, but cruising is reaching heights not seen since its ‘80s and ‘90s heydays, as Daniel Hernandez details in this evocative story, with stunning photos from Myung Chun and Allen J. Schaben. Los Angeles Times

Inside the frenzied rush to prepare the Hollywood Bowl for its first concert of the COVID-19 era. What does it take to reopen one of the world’s most famous venues in the midst of a pandemic? Jessica Gelt breaks it down. Los Angeles Times

Another subscriber exclusive: Where to eat outside in L.A. right now, with an emphasis on newer restaurants and under-the-radar pearls. Los Angeles Times

[ For more on L.A. dining, get our Tasting Notes newsletter. ]

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.