Newsletter: California’s Shutdown 2.0

California has rolled back its reopening, with new restrictions on indoor dining, churches, salons and more.

TOP STORIES

California’s Shutdown 2.0

California is largely closing again amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases across the state, with Gov. Gavin Newsom announcing statewide restrictions to again stop all indoor dining and close bars, zoos and museums.

At the same time, most counties — including Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside and 25 others that make up 80% of the population — will be forced to shutter gyms, houses of worship, hair salons, malls and other businesses under the new order, which remains in effect indefinitely. In addition, offices with nonessential workers in those counties must close.

The move further pushes Californians back into their homes during a time when they are typically enjoying summer vacations. As of Monday, California had seen more than 334,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 7,000 deaths, according to the Los Angeles Times’ tracker.

Meanwhile, school districts will continue to determine whether to return to classrooms following summer break, a decision that has varied widely across California. The Los Angeles Unified School District announced that campuses will not reopen for classes on Aug. 18, meaning the nation’s second-largest school system will continue with online learning until further notice. For many students, the decision landed with a thud of disappointment.

Other districts around the state have chosen a similar path.

But in Orange County, the Board of Education voted to approve recommendations for reopening schools in the fall that do not include the mandatory use of masks for students or increased social distancing in classrooms amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Still, the board left reopening plans up to individual school districts in the county.

More Top Coronavirus Headlines

— With U.S. virus cases spiking and the death toll mounting, the White House is working to undercut its most trusted coronavirus expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, playing down the danger as President Trump pushes to get the economy moving before he faces voters in November. In addition, Trump retweeted a post by Chuck Woolery, once the host of TV’s “Love Connection,” claiming that “Everyone is lying” about COVID-19.

— Inside California’s courts, lawyers say compliance with mask wearing has been spotty, particularly among sheriff‘s deputies.

— Horse racing’s jockey ranks have been hit as five riders who competed over the July 4 weekend at Los Alamitos have tested positive for coronavirus. Santa Anita, which finished its meeting June 21, has had a surge of people with COVID-19, according to statistics released by L.A. County.

— Hong Kong Disneyland is shutting again, less than a month after reopening, as the city clamps down in a fresh bid to prevent the resurgent coronavirus outbreak from spiraling out of control.

— The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 wiped away entire families and devastated the economy of the copper mining town of Bisbee, Ariz. Its residents are trying to avoid a repeat of history.

For more, sign up for Coronavirus Today, a special edition of The Times’ Health and Science newsletter.

Changing Attitudes

Californians’ perceptions of race relations in the state have shifted dramatically since the spring, with views having grown significantly gloomier than they were five months ago, according to a new poll. The statewide survey, which compares its results to a similar poll conducted in February, offers a before-and-after look at how Californians’ attitudes have shifted in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, George Floyd’s death and the nationwide demonstrations that ensued.

Some 54% of respondents said relations between people of different races and ethnicities in California were just fair or poor, an uptick of 13 points since February. White Californians are now much more likely than they were earlier this year to say that Black, Latino and Asian people are “frequently” discriminated against.

And 55% believe that protests over the deaths of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others have brought people in the state together, rather than splitting them further apart. A plurality of respondents, 31%, described the protests as “justified” and “impactful,” but also as “violent” and “dangerous” — 30% and 28%, respectively.

A Push for Solidarity

The protests over the killing of Floyd and calls for police reform have drawn widespread multicultural backing from the Latino community in L.A. as well. Many Latino activists have sought to create understanding for Black Lives Matter within their community by emphasizing the societal inequalities both groups face and how their prosperity is tied.

Latino and Black people have been hit harder by the coronavirus, facing about double the mortality rate in L.A. County than that of white residents. They also have been heavily affected by police violence. In L.A. County, nearly 80% of people who have been killed by local police since 2000 have been Black or Latino.

But activists say they also must address anti-Black attitudes within Latino culture, especially among older people, and that bridging a gap that often reflects generational divides can be complicated.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

In July 1934, two newsboys were injured by a hit-and-run motorist. The boys were unable to sell papers while they recovered. But as The Times reported, a good Samaritan stepped in to make sure the papers got sold, with all the money taken in going to support the boys and their families.

His name was Sammy Boy. The Siberian Samoyed and his owner, Gordon S. Davidson, were known for their good deeds. For several days, Sammy Boy sat at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue and sold copies of The Times. A Times photographer took Sammy Boy’s photo on July 12.

“There isn’t anything so curious about Sammy Boy’s helping out,” his master explained. “He has been helping others, particularly in collecting money for charity drives, for several years.”

July 12, 1934: Sammy Boy sells copies of the Los Angeles Times at Wilshire and Western.

(Fred Coffey / Los Angeles Times)

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CALIFORNIA

— A new study suggests that last year’s Ridgecrest earthquakes increased the chance of a large earthquake on California’s San Andreas fault.

— U.S. Navy officials said Monday that the fire ravaging the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard for a second day has reached temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees and is still burning in various portions of the ship.

— The corruption case against Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar is spangled with influential City Hall figures. But investigators have also turned the spotlight on a less likely figure in a pay-to-play scandal: his 80-year-old mother.

— Bankruptcy forced Stockton, Calif., to defund its police department. Here’s what the city learned about public safety — and what questions are still unanswered.

— Fears of what Robert Fuller’s death could have been thrust his life under a microscope, even as an investigation by law enforcement and an independent autopsy commissioned by his family concluded it was at his own hand.

NATION-WORLD

— The federal government incurred the biggest monthly budget deficit in history in June as spending on programs to combat the coronavirus-related recession skyrocketed, while millions of job losses cut into tax revenue.

— The Trump administration escalated its actions against China by rejecting outright nearly all of Beijing’s significant maritime claims in the South China Sea.

— China said it will impose sanctions on three U.S. lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and one ambassador in response to similar actions taken by the U.S.against Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses against Muslims in the Xinjiang region.

— Fox News host Tucker Carlson distanced himself and his program from the incendiary hate speech posted online by a former writer who worked on his top-rated program. But he offered no apologies.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

— Actress Naya Rivera, best known for playing a sharp-tongued cheerleader and glee-club member on Fox’s hit musical comedy-drama “Glee,” was found dead after an extensive search at Lake Piru in Ventura County. She was 33.

— There is finite room in the top ranks of L.A.’s leading improv and sketch comedy groups, and the performers selected to breathe the rarefied air have long been white. The Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade communities are now addressing systemic racism.

— L.A.’s Highland Park is one of the most influential neighborhoods for music in the United States. But the neighborhood has also been ransacked by gentrification and real-estate speculation, and COVID-19 has closed or upended almost everything.

— Black animators demanded industry change for years, from greater representation in writers rooms to greater casting of Black voice actors. Now they have Hollywood’s attention.

BUSINESS

— An annual study of the U.S. podcasting industry halved its growth forecasts as companies pulled or paused advertising campaigns amid the coronavirus outbreak.

— How Facebook keeps its biggest advertisers happy.

SPORTS

— The Washington NFL franchise announced Monday that it will drop its name and Indian head logo, bowing to decades of criticism that they are offensive to Native Americans. It was unclear how soon a new name would be selected.

— The Lakers are learning that life in the NBA bubble in Orlando isn’t just Cancun Coladas and pool parties.

OPINION

— Some of the greatest works of American literature and art have roots in African American English, and yet the dialect is used as a marker to marginalize its speakers.

— How you can fight Russian efforts to drive U.S. citizens to extremes before the November election.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

— When the Civil War ended, thousands of Confederate families fled to Brazil, where slavery remained legal for two more decades. Their descendants have long celebrated that history without scrutiny — until now. (Washington Post)

— As if we really need another thing to worry about: Are dogs becoming “overly bonded” with their people working at home? These trainers think so. (Bloomberg Businessweek)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

After thousands of dollars in Disney memorabilia was stolen from a Northern Sacramento storage unit, authorities say they have made an arrest and recovered most of the items. A woman reported the theft of several high-valued Disney collectible items totaling about $35,000, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, which said it found some of the items on an online auction and were able to identify a suspect in the theft. How? Because it’s a small world, after all.

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